East RB Shahid Hoover, left, breaks the tackle of Eaglecrest CB Tre-Shawn Wilford in the 2nd half of the game at All City Stadium. Denver, CO. Saturday, September, 1, 2012. East won 30-14. Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post

The easiest way for a high school senior to find out how serious schools like Colorado and Colorado State are in their recruitment of you: Are their coaches calling you?

As of Sept. 1, the staffs at these schools are allowed to call senior recruits.

It doesn’t matter how many games you are invited to, how many hand-written notes you have received, or emails that arrive daily in your inbox. The true test of a Division I FBS football program and their overall thoughts on you are if they take ten-to-twenty minutes and give you a call.

If you are putting most of your hopes on the Buffs or Rams to offer you a scholarship and they have not called by the end of September, you may consider broadening your search to see what Division I FCS and Division II schools are a good fit athletically and, more importantly, academically.

Unlike the spring evaluation period, these staffs can call once per week, so if you feel you are missing calls from unknown phone numbers, they should be able to call you back shortly after. That also means it is worth the time and effort for uncommitted prospects to answer the phone when possible and try to avoid all distractions when speaking with coaches.

Quick Hitters

• Denver East running back Shahid Hoover remains one of the top uncommitted prospects in the senior class. “My top school choices are Arizona State and Colorado State," he said. "I’ve also been hearing from Mizzou, Kansas, Alabama, Nebraska, and Tulsa.”

• With his dominant play early this fall, expect Monarch running back Ethan Marks to see his recruiting attention skyrocket after the season. This junior has had two programs he has followed since he was younger: “I’ve always liked CU because it is my home town school. It’d be cool to play for them. I also like UCLA.” Added Marks, “I have family that lives out in LA and I love the school.”

• D’Evelyn quarterback Cody Marvel is sorting through the recruiting attention he has received at the Division II level. “It has been Mines, Augustana, Sioux Falls, and then Fort Hays." he said.

• Fossil Ridge linebacker Caleb Aslor may be a junior but has drawn attention from one out-of-state program as of late. “I had a little bit of contact from the University of Nebraska-Wesleyan," he said. "They contacted me with a letter and said they are watching me."

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